Joe Bonamassa: Blues artist coming into his own

By Jerry Fink

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Blues-rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa returns to Las Vegas next week with a hit record.

One of the rising stars in the blues universe, Bonamassa is touring the country promoting his latest album, “The Ballad of John Henry.” The 31-year-old’s ninth full-length solo release and seventh studio recording is turning into his most popular album.

“It debuted No. 1 on the Billboard blues charts,” Bonamassa says by phone from Louisville, Ky., one of the stops on his national trek. “It’s the best reaction we’ve ever had to any album, knock on wood. We’ve had a lot of awareness lately. A lot of things are going on.”

He will be at the Las Vegas House of Blues on Tuesday. But don’t ask him to play “Danny Boy” or “Rose of Killarney,” even though his gig falls on St. Patrick’s Day.

“Am I going to do any Irish music in the House of Blues? I mean, seriously,” he says. “My name is Bonamassa, I’m Italian. I know it’s St. Patrick’s Day, but do you eat Italian food every time you watch ‘The Godfather’? ”

A native of Utica, N.Y., Bonamassa was performing professionally at age 10 and touring with B.B. King at 12. He’s shared bills with Buddy Guy, Foreigner, George Thorogood, Robert Cray, Stephen Stills, Joe Cocker and Gregg Allman. He began recording in the early ’90s and released his first solo album — “A New Day Yesterday,” named after a Jethro Tull hit, in 2000 and continued to refine his sound and build a fan base through “Sloe Gin” in 2007. BluesWax, the Austin, Texas-based Web site, named him its artist of the year in 2004 and 2005, and Guitar Player Magazine readers voted him best blues guitarist in 2007.

Bonamassa also serves as the youngest-ever board member of the Memphis-based Blues Foundation and is the spokesman for its highly respected Blues in the Schools program, which educates students nationwide about the legacy and influence of the blues.

Bonamassa says one of his influences while maturing as a musician was John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. He shares the philosophy of two former Bluesbreakers, Coco Montoya and Walter Trout, who dislike blues purists and acknowledge that their music is affected by almost all genres.

Bonomassa agrees.

“I don’t think I’m a blues player or rock player — I’m an entertainer,” Bonamassa says. “My job is to entertain folks. It doesn’t matter how we get there. I’m the furthest thing from a traditional blues player you can find.

“What makes modern blues so interesting is that it has so many influences. My grandfather is 80 years old. His first car was an old Plymouth, 1940-something. He drives a Saturn now. The concept of the car is the same between the Plymouth and the Saturn, but they look completely different. So why should blues sound like it’s 1929 in 2009? Everything evolves and becomes different. Blues is no different.”

Bonamassa has struck a chord with audiences.

While many tours are struggling in today’s tough economy, Bonamassa isn’t singing the blues about his numbers.

“We’ve sold more tickets on this tour than we ever have,” he says. “I know Vegas is kind of hurting. There’s lots of competition for the entertainment dollar — but there’s only so much talent who can get $200 or $300 for tickets. It’s hard to charge that much and have people flock to you — at $45 or so, we’re still a relatively cheap date.”

Jerry Fink can be reached at 259-4058 or at [email protected].